Today you will create a branding statement – a short, catchy sentence (15 words or less) that highlights what makes you an ideal job candidate.

Your statement should focus on how you will add value to a company through your skills, experience, and/or achievements.

How to Write a Branding Statement

To begin writing your branding statement, make a list of your strengths, as related to the job for which you are applying. List your accomplishments in your most relevant previous positions, particularly accomplishments that added value to an organization.

List your personal assets that helped you reach those accomplishments – these can be personality traits, skills, etc. Look at the requirements of your target job (you can do this by looking at online job postings), and then circle anything on your list of accomplishments and assets that overlap with those job requirements.

Your final branding statement should weave together one or two adjectives that describe your key strengths, your desired job title, and one or two of your accomplishments.

Branding Statement Example

Here is an example of a branding statement: “Detail-oriented development assistant experienced in coordinating extensive fundraising efforts and drafting successful grant proposals.”

How to Use Your Branding Statement in Your Job Search

Write a Resume Profile

You can also expand it into a longer resume profile (which is typically a small paragraph), and include that on your resume instead.

Your resume profile will also be useful during job interviews: it is a great answer to the common question, “Tell me about yourself.” Having a branding statement also helps you better understand your strengths, which will be important when answering another common interview question, “What are your strengths?”